Circuit-controller.



A. A. KENT.

CIRCUIT CONTROLLER.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 22, 1906.

Patented May 12, 1914.

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A. A. KENT.

CIRCUIT CONTROLLER APPLICATION FILED DEC. 22,, 1906.

1,096, 109. Patented May-12, 1914.

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CIRCUIT-CONTROLLER.

Specification of Letters Patent. I

k I '0 all whom it may-concern: j

Be it known. that/ I, ARTHUR A'rw-A'rnn KENT, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Philadelphia, county of 'Phila delphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and-.usefullmprovements in Circuit-Controllers, of: which the following is a full, complete,- and-exact disclosure.

My invention relates to circuit controllers and especially to that class of devices in which a single contact device is used to make and break a plurality of electrical circuits, "and my invention is especially applicable for use. in connection'with internal combustion engines having a plurality of cylinders operating either upon a single drive shaft or a plurality of shafts so connected to- The objects of my invention are to employa positively operated make andbreaki device which w-ill'opera-te in connection with a plurality of circuits and to connect said device-with the circuits byv means of a distributer or timer. in such a manner as to prevent, so far as ossible, the sparkin'gs and wear at the po nts where thecircults are broken, and especially in saiddistributer;

A further object of my device isto pro-' I 'vide a construction in which the spark may be induced either bya positively driven me-. chanicalcontact: device, whichlwill close the sparking circuit for a" uniform definite length of time, irrespective of the speed of the driving mechanism, or by an electromagnetic vibrator;

Further objects of my inventionare to reduce the battery consumptiom'to effect a more accurate timing of the spark, to produce a constant spark for a plurality of cylinders, to facilitate the startingof the en? 3 gine, toprovidemeans for testing the spark plugs in the. various cylinders, tosimplify the constructionand reduce-the. weight of the'device, and. to simplify the wiring of the sparking-system. f Other ob'ectsof my invention will appear in the specification and claims below.

In the-drawings forming a part of this specification in: whichqthesame parts are referred to by like-reference characters, Figure 1 is a plan view of; my improved me-- 'c'ha'nicalcontact. device, and distributer or timer, thedistributer. or timer being shown in section; Fig, 2 is a side'elevational view of the same, and Fig.- 3 is a diagranunatic.

\ view of my improvedcontact device and dising a stop 21 I tributer as connected up and coiiperating with a engine.

Referring first to the device illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, 1 indicates a suitable plate or four cylinder .internal combustion body portion which is provided with lugs 2-3 extending on oppositesides thereof and forming ournals for the shaft 4 rotatably mounted therein. The lug 3 is cut away as at 5 to expose the shaft 4 which at this point is provided with ratchet teeth 6. "Above the said ratchet teeth 6 is a sliding membe1"7 provided with a dependin or hooked portion 8 adapted to be engage by the ratchet teeth when the shaft 4 is rotated;

This member 7 is supported at its forward end on the upper surface 9 ofthe cut away portion 5 of the lug 3 and at its rear end by the pin 10 mounted in the cut away portion 11 of the projection 12 secured to the base plate 1. This member. 7 is held down upon its said bearing 9 and lO 'by a rearwardly and downwardly extending tension spring 13, which also acts to draw the said member rearwardly. so that its rear end normally rests against a stop pin l t at the rear of the cut away portion 11. The forward end of the said member 7 is also provided with an ex tension 15 the function of which will appear below.- Above the sliding member 7:

and loosely pivoted on a stud 16 secured to the'base 1 is a block 17 to one side of which is secured a stiff arm 18 :the outer end of which is supported on a stud 19 andfis bent to form a' hook 20 the extremity of.

which is adjacent the extension 15 of the Patented May '12, 1914.

Application filed December 22, 1906.. Serial No. 349,068.

sliding-member? To the-opposite side of.

the block 17 a strip of 'stifimateriel fOifHl- 7 block in a direction substantially parallel to the arm 18 and between said strip 21 and the block 17 is clamped the resilient contact arm 22 carryingat its outer end the plati .num contact point 23. This arm 22 consists of a strip offlexible and resilient material manner above set forth, that when it is clamped to the block 17 between the same:

and the stifi stop strip 21 by the. screws 24, its free end normally resses against the which extends-away. from said stop arm 21 with sufficient tension to prevent any oscillation or trembling of the resilient-contact arm. The block 17 is retained on the pin 16 by. the spring 16' se-' cured the same and-the base plate 1, and

it is so positioned as to also hold the arm 18 against the stud l9 and the contact point 23 away from the contact 32- when the end is out of engagement with the extension 15.

Secured t'othe base plate 1 but insulated therefrom by a plate 25 of vulcanite or other suitable insulating material, is an insulated member 26 provided with a projection 27 the front side of the base plate 1 the said in- I sulated member 26 extends outwardly, adjacent the resilient contact arm 22, and opposite the contact point 23 it is provided with a screw 31 the end ofwhich forms a stationary contact point 32. From the screw 31 to the end of the said insulated member is provided a kerf 33 forming a split nut into which said screw is threaded and a locking screw 34 passing through the ends of the said member serves to rigidly clamp the screw 31 in any adjusted position. i

To the end of the projection 12 is pivotally mounted a circuit closing key 35, on a pin 36. Said key being provided at one end with a finger piece 37 and having its opposite end, carrying a platinum contact point 38, extending under a projecting andoverhanging portion 39 of the insulated member 26. p A spring tends to hold the point 38 out of contact with the end 39 of the said insulated member 26.

The mechanism above described .constitutes a mechanical contact maker or make and break device and when referred to as a whole will be called the contact maker.

Secured to the shaft 4 is a gear 40 meshing with a similar gear 41, mounted on a shaft 42 parallel to the shaft 4 j ournaled in bearings 43-to the plate 1, the opposite end of said shaft 42 having secured thereto a head 44 adapted to be rotated by said shaft within a circular chamber 45 in the casing 46 rigidly secured to said base late 1 in any suitable manner. In order to rotate the shafts 4 and 42 synchronously the gears 40 and 41 should be of the same size. The head 44 is provided with a yielding brush or wiper of any suitable description. In the drawings I have illustrated the same as comprising a stem 47 having a head 48 slidingly fitted in a suitable opening in the head 44, said stem passing through the dianietrical opening 49 and having its opposite end loosely fitted in an alined opening 50 in a' screw plug 51.

52 indicates a coiled compression spring surrounding the stem 47 and having its ends in operative engagement with the plug 51 and the head 44. By this construction the head 44 is pressed outwardly by the said spring 52 so that it engages at all times the interior wall of the chamber'49.

Arranged symmetrically around the chamber 45 are stationary contact pieces 53, 54, 55 and 56 insulated from the casing 46 in any suitable manner as by non-conducting sleeves 57 On the said contact pieces are binding posts 58-by which the said contact pieces may be connected to a suitable source of electrical energy, through the primary windings of the induction coils 70 and 75.

The device above described constitutes the distributer or timer by which the contact device is put into operative relation with the various circuits to be fully explained below.

59 indicates a suitably located handle or gripby means of which the plate 1 and the various parts mounted thereon, may be rotated about the shaft 4 for the purpose of adjusting or turning the device with the motor with which it may be used.

60, 61, 62, 63 indicate diagrammatically the cylinders of a multiple cylinder, internal combustion engine, each of which has its piston 64 connected by its-pitman 65 with the crank 66 on the main shaft 4. The pistons are preferably coupled in complemenv tary pairs, that is to say, one piston is in that position in its cycle when the charge is ready to be exploded while the complemental piston is in that point of the cycle where the exploded gases have been expelled from the cylinder and the cylinder contains an unexplosive mixture. Each cylinder is provided with a jump spark plug 67 shown diagrammatically as having an insulated member 68 and a member 69 grounded to the enme. g 70 indicates an induction coil one end 71 of the secondary winding of which is connected by a wire 72 with the insulated mem ber 68 of the spark plug 67 of cylinder 60,

while the other end 73 is connected by wire 74 with the insulated member of the spark plug of complementary cylinder 62. 75 indicates a second induction coil one end 76 of the secondary winding of which is connected by wire 77 with the insulated member of the sparkplug of cylinder 61, while its opposite end 78 is connected by wire 7 9 similarly with the spark plug "of cylinder 63.

80, 81, 82 and 83 are keys connected by the wire 84 to the lead 85 which in turn is grounded to the engine through the binding post 86 attached to the cylinder 62. Each of these keys is adapted to contact with one of the terminals of the secondary windings of the-induction'coils 7 0 or '75.

One end 87 of the primary winding of the induction coil 70 is connected by the wires 88 and 89 directed with one pole of the battery 90 while the opposite end 91 of the said pri mary winding is connected through lead 92 contact screw 93, vibrator 94 and lead 95,

" the lead 95 by wire'101.

otem to' wire96, which is connected by leads 97 and 98 tothe opposite contact pieces 53 and 55 respectively of the timer. 99 indicates a switch for shunting the vibrator 94 by having one side connected by wire 100 with the wire 92 and its other side connected to Similarly oneend 102 of the primary coil 75 is connected by wires 103 and'89 to the same pole of the battery 90, and the other end 104 is connected through wire 105 contact screw 106, vi-

brator 107 and lead 108 to wire 109, which i terminates in two'branches 110 and 111 connected to the opposite contact pieces 56 and 54 respectively.

-112 indicates a switch having its opposite sides connected by wires 113 and 114 to the leads 105 and 108 respectively. The opposite pole of thebattery 90 is connected by wire 115 to the insulated bracket 26 of the contact maker.

As has been stated above the key 35 is mounted on the plate 1 and when pressed is adapted tocontact with the insulated bracket 26. v

116 indicatesa condenser having one side connected by'wire 117 and lead 92 to the end 91 of/the primary winding of the induc' tion coil 70 and its other end connected by lead 118 and the wire. 115 to the battery 90;? 119 is a similar condenser, having one side connected-by lead 120 and wire 105 to the end 104 of the primary winding ofthe coil 75, and its 'otherend' connected by wire 121 and wire 115to the battery 90.

7, It is to be understood that the shaft 4 is driven from the crank shaft 4 by any. suitable gearing! (not shown) whereby the ratio of the spee of the two shafts will be con stant, audit is to bealso understood that although I have shown my contact device anddistributer as applied to a'four cylinden'engine and consequently the ratchet 6'as provided with four teeth and the distributer as provided with four stationary contact pieces, when the device is employed'in connection with motors orrengines having a different number of cylinders, the correspending parts of the contact device and (timer may, beco'rrespondingly varied.

The operation of my device is'as follows: By the rotation oithe crank shaft 4, the ratchet 6 on shaft 4, is rotated inthe direc-- tion indicated in thearrow on Figsil and 4, and the downwardly extending end of the slider7 isdrawn forwardlyout under the depending end 20 ofthe .stifi arm 18, the slider bearing at all times against the surface 8 and the pin 10, and moving in oppo sit-ion to the spring 13. When the ratchet has advanced sufiiciently' far its' engaged edge moves downwardly out of engagement with the end 8 of the slider 7, and the spring 13 then is free to retract the slider to its original position with its end contacting with the pin14. In doing this, however,

the depending end 8 rides upwardly over.

the outer surface 6' of the ratchet teeth 6, and the edge 15 strikes and lifts the stifi' arm 18, turning the block 17 on its pivot 16 against the action of the s pring l6." The rocking ofthe block moves the arm 22 and its rigid stop 21 upwardly so that the contact point 23 engages with the stationary contact 32 on the end of the screw 31, thus closing the circuit through the said contact, points. The turning oftheratchet 6 in the opposite direction will merely cause the end 8 of the sliding member 7 to move upwardly around the point 14 as a center, and out of contact with the end 20 of the arm 18. This motion of the sliding member will not affect the contact point 23 and the current will not be closed by said contact device. From the above description it will be apparent that while the slider 7 will be advanced at variable speeds depending upon the speed at which the shaft 4 which is connected with the engine rotates upon its return movement it will be always acted upon by the same force, that is to say, by the tension of the spring 13, and therefore, the time between the release of the slider and its return to the position shown in Fig. 1 is always constant. It follows, therefore, that the time of its engagement with the depending end 20 of the arm 18 will also be constant. the use of my device the time of the closure of the circuit is thus rendered uniform or constant, irrespectiveof the speed of the engine. Just before the contact points just referred to have been actually; closed the brush 48 will have moved'into contact with the stationary contact. piece 54,- thus allowing the contact device to open and close 'positively the circuit through'the induction coil 75 by the following path: battery 90.

lated member and the grounded member 69 of the said plug through the framework of the engine, .back to stationary and grounded member 69 of the spark plug 67 of cylinder 63, thence across the air gap and insulated member by lead7 9 to the terminal 78 of the secondary. coil. So immediately after the brush 48 has moved into contact with the stationary contact piece 53, the contacts 23 and 32 will again be closed and across the air gap between the said insuthe circuit will be closed through the second seen that-for every making and breaking of the circuit by means of the contact maker a spark is formed in two complementary cylinders; in one cylinder to explode the charged gases at the end of the compression stroke, and also in the complementary cylinder which contains, nothing i but spent gases and in which the spark has no effect. It is plain then that before the ratchet wheel makes and breaks the circuit through the points of the contact device, the brush will have moved into contact with a stationary contact of the dist-ributer or timer, and will remain in contact therewith until after the circuit has been again broken to produce a spark in the pair of cylinders 61, 63 and in the pair of cylinders 62, 64 alternately, and since the circuit will not be closed and broken, except when the brush 4.8 is on a contact in the distributer or timer, there will be no sparking whatever in the distributor. Whenever it is desired the spark may be produced by means of the electromagnetic vibrators 94 and 107 instead of by the mechanical contact device heretofore described.

in which event the switches 99 and 112 would be opened as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3. Then whenever the key 35' is closed to short circuit the mechanical contact device the electro-magnetic vibrators will rapidly open and close the primary circuits, and induce a sparking current in the secondary circuits as long as the brush 48 is in contact with that stationary contact of the timer or distributerwhich is connected with its coil,

and the rapid succession of impulses set up through its secondary circuitwill produce a torrent of sparks in the proper cylinders. This cutting out of the mechanical contact device, and throwingin'of the said vi brators to cause the spark is especially useful in starting the engine. Since one cylinder will usually contain an unexploded charge when the engine is stopped, the

charge may be exploded without first rotating the cylinders or the shaft upon which the ratchet is mounted by opening the switches 94 and 107 and pressing the key 35 to short circuit the mechanical contact device. It is plain, however, that the same result may be attained by manually closing the contact points 23 and 32, in which case the key 35 might be dispensed with.

WVhenever it is desirable to cut out one or more of the cylinders for the purpose of testing whether or not the spark plug is operating correctly, it is merely necessary to press one or more of the keys 80, 81, 82 or 83 to short circuit the corresponding cylinders. Thus, if the key 80 were closed, the impulse in the secondary coil would traverse the wires 78 and 79 to plug 67 in cylinder 03 and thence by the frame .Work of the machine through the binder post 86 and wire 85, back through key to the terminal 70, I

thus cutting out entirely the cylinder 61.

I have shown condensers as bridging across from the wire 115 connected to one terminal or pole of the battery 90 to the vibrators in the primary circuit of the in duction coil,.the position of these condensers being such as to prevent all unnecessary sparking at the points at which the circuit is broken, but it is to be understood that I do not intend to limit my invention to this exact arrangement, since the condensers may be arranged in any manner to bridge across the coil and one or more of the places where the curreiit is made and broken.

It should be stated that when the induction coils are used alone to furnish the impulses to the secondary circuits, the timer itself will act as a make and break device for the primary circuit. It is also apparent that the vibrators 94 and 107 may be prevented from operating while the mechanical contact device is employed to make and break the primary circuit by a variety of means, 6. g. by adjusting the screws 93 and 106, so that they contact with their respective vibrators when the same aredrawn against the coils, thus dispensing entirely 'with the switches 99 and 112. f

The whole plate which is adapted to be turned or rotated about the shaft 4 by means of. the handle 59 and by this means the timing of the spark with respect to the position of the pistons in the cylinders may be adjusted or varied in order to either obtain the best result-sfrom the explosions or. to vary the speed of the motors.

laving thus described my invention what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Pat ent of the United States is 1. The combination with a pair of electrical circuits, an induction coil in each circuit, and a vibrator operated by each of said coils, of a source of electrical energy, a contact device and means to operate the same, and means to put each of said circuits alternately into series with said source of elec trical energy and said contact device before said circuit is closed by said contact device,

and to hold the said circuit in series therewith until after the circuit is again broken by said contact device, a condenser bridging said contact device and one of said vibrators, a secondary circuit for each of said 'c oils and a pair of sparking plugs in each of said secondarycircuits Y 2. Thecombinat-ion with a'pai-r of el'ectri-- cal circuits, a source of electrical energy,

- tact-device, a condenser bridging each. of

said vibrators and said contact'device at the point where the circuits are broken by the same,a secondary circuit for each of said coils and a pain of spaflring'plu'gs in each of said secondary circuits,

duction coils having primary and secondary windings, and each coil being provided with a vibrator to make and break the primary circuit, of a plurality of cylinders arranged in complementary pairs, 'a sparking 'plug comprising insulated and grounded members mounted in each cylinder, said insulated members of a air of plu s arranged in complementary cy inders an arran ed in series with the secondary winding 0 one-coil, a

contact device, a distributer having movable andstatiOnary terminals, each stationary terminal bem arranged in series with the primary win ings of one of said coils, an

electrical connection from said movable member to said contactdevipe, an electrical connection from said contact device to the other terminal of the primaryfiwinding of each coil, and means to operate said/contact device and said movable terminal of the distributer synchronously, to produce a sparking impulse in each of the secondary circuits successively.

4.111 a sparking system the combination with a mechanically operated contact device for opening and closing a circuit for a constant length of time irrespective of the speed at which said device may be operated, and a distributer, of a plurality of electrical circuits successively thrown into series with said contact device by said distributer, an induction coil in each of said circuits, a pair ofsparking plugs arranged in series in each of the secondary circuits of-each induction coil, and manual means to ground either end of each of said coils to cut out of the second-, ary circuit the plug connected to that end of that coil. Y

5. The combination with a pair'of induction coils each having primary and secondary windings, of a contact device having a single-circuit closer and breaker, a source of electrical energy and a' distributer in said 3. The combi1fation with a plurality of in tion engine arranged complementary to each other, so that one cylinder has an explosive mixture and the other a non-explosive mixture therein, and a sparking plug in each cylinder the said sparking lugs of -each pair of complementary cylin each of said'induction coils.

' "6. In a sparking system the combination with a mechanically operated contact device for opening and closing a circuit for a-constant length ofitim'e irrespective of the speed at which said device maybe operated, a distributer, a pair of electrical circuits alternately thrown into series with said contact device by saiddistributer, an induction coil in each of said circuits, of a pair of secondary circuits, one for each of said induction co1ls,'a pair ofsparkmg plugs arranged in series in each of said secondary circuits, and means to short circuit either end of the sec; ondary windings'of each of said coils to cut, out the plug connected to that endvof saidcoil.

7. The combination with an induction coil of a pair of cylinders arranged complementary to each other, a sparking plug in each cylinder and compri ing an insulated and a grounded member, an electrical connection between said insulated members and the terminals of said coil, an electrical connection leading from the ground to a point adjacent the terminals of said coil'and means 'to connect either end of said coil with said connection. I

8.. The combination'with the secondary circuit of an induction coil, of a pair of cylinders arranged complementary to each other, a sparking plug in each cylinder and comprising an insulated and a grounded member, an electrical connection between each of said insulated members and a terminal of'said coil, an electrical connection lead.- ing from the ground to a point adjacent each terminal and means to close the circuit through said ground and one of said sparking plugs.

9. The combination with a plurality of induction coils having primary and secondary windings, andeach coilbeing provided with a vibrator to make and break the priers being arranged 1n series in the secondary circuit of mary circuit, of a pluralityof cylinders arranged in complementary pairs, a sparking plug comprising insulated and grounded members mounted in each cylinder, said insulated members of a pair of plugs arranged in complementary cylinders and arranged in series with the secondary winding ref one coil, a contact device, a distributerhaving movable, and stationary terminals, each stationary terminal being arranged in series with the prnnary windings of onevof saidco ils, an electrical-connection'from said-:

movable member to said contact device, an electrical connection from sa d contact device to the other terminal of the primary Winding of each coil, a single condenser around said contact device and one of said vibrators, and means to operate said contact device and said movable terminal of the distributer synchronouslyflto produce a sparking impulse in each of the secondary circuits successively.

10. The combination with a sparking circuit comprising a primary circuit, an induction coil therein, and a secondary circuit connect ed to the secondary windin of said coil, of

a pair of complementary cy inders, a sparking plug in each cylinder, each plug comprising an insulated and a grounded member, the insulated members of said plugs of a pair of cylinders being arranged in series in said secondary circuit, and manually operated means to ground either end of the secondary Winding of said induction coil.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 20th day of December, A. D. 1906.

ARTHUR ATWATER KENT.

Witnesses:

ALEXANDER PARK,

WALTER A; HOLDEN. 

